Brooklyn, N.Y. – Trailing 40-31 with 7:37 remaining in the third quarter, the Robert Morris University women's basketball team outscored Long Island University, 39-19, over the remainder of the contest to remain unbeaten in Northeast Conference (NEC) play with a 70-59 triumph this afternoon from the Steinberg Wellness Center.
Robert Morris (12-6, 7-0 NEC) has now won 18 straight against Long Island (3-15, 2-5 NEC) in the all-time series, with this being the 13th double-digit victory during that stretch. This is the second time this season that the Colonials have won after trailing at halftime, joining the 69-62 overtime triumph at Norfolk State on Dec. 18, 2019.
"We didn't come out as strong as we needed," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "LIU was outworking us and we needed a strong response – they deserve credit for how ready they were ready to play. It was a great opportunity to challenge ourselves to respond when adversity hit. Dahomée really was ready early on to keep us in the game, and Nina (Augustin) was a true inspiration with how much she lifted us with her leadership down the stretch.
"We definitely have some screws to tighten up after this experience, but there's a lot of positives to take away from an inspirational finish to close out the game."
Dahomée Forgues paced the visitors with a career-high 15 points (7-15 FG) and seven rebounds. She was one of four Colonials with double figures in points, alongside Honoka Ikematsu (12), Irekpitan Ozzy-Momodu (12), and Nneka Ezeigbo (10). Ikematsu added a team-best five assists, while Ezeigbo and Ozzy-Momodu tied for RMU high honors on the glass with eight boards each.
Owning a four-point halftime edge, the Sharks opened the second 20 minutes with five straight points to take their largest lead at 40-31. Ezeigbo stopped the bleeding with a three-point play, then Isabella Posset split the defense and finished inside to make it 40-36 with 6:44 left in the third. Forgues buried a jumper to pull the Colonials within three, but Jeydah Johnson went on a 5-0 run to extend the gap to 46-38.
That's when Nina Augustin made her presence in the game, as RMU responded with a 9-1 run to knot it at 47-47. Augustin continued the rally with a steal and finish at midcourt to pull the Colonials within three, then found Megan Callahan on the baseline for a game-tying three. After Brandy Thomas put LIU back in front with a jumper, the junior from Helsinki, Finland banked home a layup and split a pair of free throws to give the visitors a 50-49 edge heading in the fourth.
Ozzy-Momodu then took control of the contest, scoring five straight points to extend the RMU lead to 55-49. The Sharks had an answer with threes from Thomas and Johnson, then Mia Perkins finished inside to push the hosts back ahead, 57-55, with 6:19 to play.
That advantage wouldn't last long however, as the duo of Ikematsu and Holly Forbes caught fire and ultimately turned the tide in the Colonials' direction. The guard started it off with a mid-range jumper, then Forbes scored twice on drives to the hoop to make it 61-57. Ikematsu followed that up with a corner three and added her another mid-range bucket to force a LIU timeout with 2:21 remaining.
"There was a real culture check at halftime," said Buscaglia. "I put the challenge out there to be willing to stay in faith of moving forward to outwork our opponent. I told them in life you stay in faith of what we value and do not for one second be miserable about mistakes. In order to be successful, you must handle this adversity and stay together."
With 37 seconds left, Ezeigbo swatted away a Thomas layup attempt, giving her the 100th rejection of her career. The senior is the seventh player in program history to reach that milestone, and the fourth to accumulate 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 100 blocks, and 100 steals in a career – the others to achieve that are Elise James '00, Maebeth Schalles '93, and Artemis Spanou '14.
Thomas led the Sharks with 24 points – 14 coming in the first quarter – and 12 rebounds.
Robert Morris is now 7-0 in the NEC for the fourth time in school history (2010-11, 2017-18, 2018-19), and will look to complete a perfect January for the third consecutive year on Monday, Jan. 27 at 7:00 p.m. when it travels to St. Francis Brooklyn.
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